Nate and I met, dated, broke up, got back together, fell in love, and then got married all in 1 year. We have been married 6 months now and it has flown by. We love the married life! I wanted to write down how we met so I can remember the details when we get older.

I had been living in Hawaii for about 6 1/2 years when I started dating a guy that had been one of my good friends the whole time there. He had gone to San Diego to get a masters degree and we had kept in contact while he was there, skyping and talking on the phone, and then started dating when he returned to Hawaii. We only dated for a short time and then he broke up with me. It was a hard breakup for me, mostly since we had been such good friends, and I had a hard time getting over it. This break up was one of the main things that got me thinking that maybe I should move somewhere else.

About 3 months later, I moved to San Diego. I had chosen California because I would be close enough to drive and visit family or have them visit me, I could still surf and live by the ocean, and I figured there would be more options in guys to date. I was planning on moving to Dana Point or San Clemente, but ended up finding a house to move into only a mile from the beach, in Pacific Beach.

My family drove up with me and stayed a few days. They left and I felt so sad and alone. I didn't know anyone so I spent the first few days surfing at the pier right by my house and laying out at the beach.

My first weekend there, my roommate, Natalie, invited me to a pool party. We also went with our new roommate, Michelle, she moved in right after me. We got to the party and they had a big pool and were showing a movie on a projector. There were no girls in the pool, all of the girls were dressed so fancy. I was in my beach dress and swimsuit (my usual in Hawaii) and so was Michelle, so we jumped in the pool. And that's where I met Nate. He says he noticed me right away because I was the most tan girl at the party.. haha! He started talking to me and we talked for about 2 hours.

As we were talking, I found out that Nate had been roommates with my ex-boyfriend from Hawaii, whose break up had been a deciding factor in me moving. It is so crazy to me how the world is so small and how things just fell into place for Nate and I to meet. There are so many things that happened in us meeting, dating, and getting engaged and married that I know Heavenly Father had a hand in everything working out for us.

The next day I got a message on Facebook from him. When we had been talking, I mentioned I wanted to buy a bike. He sent me the couple of links to some bikes for sale on craigslist. That caught my attention and I just thought it was so sweet of him to try and help me find a bike. (I didn't end up buying any of the bikes because they were road bikes and I hadn't told him, but I wanted to buy a beach cruiser). I said thanks though and then he sent me a message asking if I wanted to go on a bike tour of PB, since I had just moved there. I said sure and I remember begin excited and nervous when he came over. He brought a bike for me and we rode all around, through neighborhoods, by Mission Bay, by Seaworld, and everywhere. We stopped by Trader Joes, got pesto chicken wraps for lunch, and ate them on the grass of an apartment across the street. If anyone knows me, they know I LOVE Trader Joes, so it was a good sign that Nate did too. When Nate was about to leave, he told me he was starting a teaching program at SDSU that week and it was going to be super busy for him. I figured I wouldn't really see him anytime soon then.

The next day, I got a text from Nate asking if I wanted to ride the ferry to Coronado island and ride bikes around the island. I of course said yes. It was our first date and we both had so much fun. Nate brought bikes again and we put them on the ferry and rode to the island. I have never ridden a ferry before and it was so much fun! We rode bikes all around. We went by The Del and rode through all of the cute neighborhoods looking at all of the beautiful houses, there are so many amazing ones!! We stopped by this grassy area and put our feet in this huge fountain (it was pretty hot out!) and then lay on the grass, looking at the clouds. I remember Nate kept saying, these clouds are AMAZING! I still tease him about it, but they were huge and fluffy and looked really cool. Then we rode the ferry back. It was such a fun date and ended up being the way that Nate proposed 9 months late (another post). It is crazy to think back on that day and where we are now. I am so thankful that I moved away from Hawaii and met Nate, it was 100% worth it.

A few pics from our first date

I had so much fun with Nate and we went on several more dates and always had a lot of fun, but Nate didn't want to be too serious or be to committed. I liked him and had a ton of fun with him, but I had kind of moved from Hawaii to get away from dating guys that didn't like to commit, so we had a talk and I told him he either needed to be committed and only want to date me or we should break up. He said maybe we should break up then. I was really sad and the next few days went by so slowly.

I went to a stake luau and it was very depressing because there were no guys that seemed even close to as fun and sweet as Nate. I kept wondering if I should have just not said anything to Nate about being more committed, but I decided it was better to not date him then to date him and feel bad about him not being sure how serious he was about us. Nate was going to help me pick up a dresser for my room and after we broke up, he told me he still wanted to help me pick it up. A few days after we had broken up, he came over to help me load it and take it home in his brother's truck. He kept being so sweet to me, and it just made me more sad that we weren't dating anymore.

The next day evening Nate called me and said, "I don't know what you're thinking, but I'm not ready to stop dating you." I was sooo glad to hear those words! I had wanted to call him and say that I missed him so many times, but I didn't let myself. So we were broken up for a total of 6 days and it ended up being such a good thing for us. Our break up helped us both realize how much we really liked each other. We both missed each other a lot more than we had expected.

After we got back together (the day before Halloween) we had a much stronger relationship and it was so much easier on both of us. We went on so many fun dates and had so much fun. San Diego is really such an awesome place because there is so much to do, beautiful weather, pretty beaches and fun surf, and sooo many good places to eat. We had so much fun dating there and I have so many good memories from there (good thing we can visit there lots since Nate's family lives there!)

A few pictures from some of our dates

Ice skating outside The Del on Coronado Island


December Nights at Balboa Park

Driving to look at lights- Candy Cane Lane

At the beach, on Crystal Pier

Matt Costa Concert

Extraordinary Desserts- I love this place!

Riding bikes around Mission Bay

Riding on a tandem bike on my birthday!

Padres game

San Diego Fair!

I just love this guy!! (:

* I wrote this a few days ago but didn't get to finish it and post it until now.

Today I was thinking about how grateful I am for change. I am not a person that usually likes or easily embraces change. A year and a half ago I was living in Hawaii. I had been living there for 7 years and loved my life there. My last year I worked as a part-time teaching in my friend, Hailey's, 5th grade classroom. In the summer I worked as a surf photographer at a resort with my best friend. We got paid to hang out, paddle board, watch people surf, and surf in between lessons. It was amazing and I loved it, but I kept feeling like there was somewhere else I needed to go. I felt happy but felt like something was missing in my life.

I went through a hard break up with a boyfriend and it caused me to really think about where I was in my life. I loved Hawaii and the time that I had spent there, but I felt like it was time for me to be somewhere new. I felt like I was stuck in the same rut and wasn't really growing. (Maybe because I spent almost everyday surfing for at least 3-4 hours, sometimes more like 6 ? :) ) I kept having a continued feeling that I needed to move somewhere new. With a lot of praying and soul searching and encouragement from my family and friends, I decided to move.

My Last Week in Hawaii



I thought and prayed about where to go for several months. I had a good feeling about moving to California, and things just kind of ended up falling into place for me to move to Pacific Beach. I had never been to PB and didn't know anyone there. I had never seen the house I was moving into or met my roommates. I didn't even have a job lined up. It was really hard for me my last week in Hawaii, I kept thinking, "this is the last time I'll get to go surfing, this is my last time at keikis (my favorite beach)"... etc. etc. One thing that made things easier for me, my best friend Katie was moving away from Hawaii too. I bought my ticket to leave the same day she was leaving, somehow it just made it easier that we were both leaving together. The day came that it was time to leave and I cried quietly most of the flight. I flew into Arizona and stayed with my family for about a week. My family drove up with me, my mom and dad in one car and Brittany, Ally, and I in my car. We got to my new house and unpacked all of my stuff and then spent a few days going to the beach and exploring the area. The day my family left, I remember just feeling so sad and alone as they pulled out of the driveway. I had lived much further away the past 7 years but I had always had family and good friends in Hawaii and felt so at home there. My first few weeks in California were really hard for me. It was a time that I really leaned on my Heavenly Father and grew closer to Him through prayer and faith. I felt His comfort and hand in my life so much throughout this time.

My first weekend in California I met my future hubby. I didn't know it at the time, but he asked me on a date and we started dating (not to seriously at first though). I will tell our love story on a later post! After about a month, I started an amazing nanny job. The family I worked for was so sweet and so kind and their kids were the cutest! I loved going to work and became such good friends with them. I also made some good friends from my ward and found some awesome girls to surf and hang out with! I found some fun places to eat and surf (both very important things to me (: ) I felt so blessed with all of these things and I know that my Heavenly Father was really watching over me and helping me throughout this time. There were still days that I missed Hawaii so much, but I knew that I was in the place that I was supposed to be. Almost exactly a year from the date I moved to San Diego, I got married to Nate in the San Diego LDS Temple. It was the happiest day of my life and I was so happy to be there with Nate and with so many family members and sweet friends.

San Diego

Visits from my family

My first date with Nate





When I look back on everything I went through from the time I moved to Hawaii until now, I feel so grateful for everything that happened. I am grateful that I went through a break up in Hawaii which ultimately was the pushing factor that made me consider moving. I'm thankful for my Heavenly Father for all He did and continues to do for me. For helping me to feel I needed to move. For helping me to know where to move and making everything work out for me to move and settle there. For helping me to meet Nate and helping us throughout our relationship. For helping Nate and I to break up (for a short time) to see how much we really missed and liked each other. For helping us to realize we loved each other. For the opportunity we had to be married and sealed for time and all eternity in the temple. For all of the love I was shown in San Diego, having such sweet friends and so many fun experiences. I am so thankful for my family for all of the love and support they always show me. I am so thankful for Nate and all he does for me; he is so sweet, thoughtful, smart, hard working, and so much fun to be around. I couldn't imagine life without him now! I will always look back on this time in my life and be thankful. I am thankful for change, without it I would not be where I am today. I am so thankful for all of the pain, sadness, trials, and trying times I went through that made me stronger, strengthened my faith, and brought me to where I am today. I am so completely happy being married to Nate and starting our life together. I am so thankful for the wonderful life that we have and love that we share.